MSIV Welcomes VP Community

Q &A with Elizabeth Murphy

 Wednesday, November 17, 2021, from San Rafael, CA

I’m pleased to introduce the North Bay entrepreneurial community to MSIV’s first official hire, Elizabeth Murphy, joining as our Vice President of Community. 

I had the privilege of getting to know Elizabeth when we collaborated closely at Glassdoor in Mill Valley during the middle part of the last decade. I watched Elizabeth lead the company’s channel marketing efforts with incredible skill over that time and was impressed with her ability to build lasting, trusting relationships with our partners. Her warm demeanor and professionally executed creative events set the bar high not only for Glassdoor but for the entire HR technology industry.

Elizabeth brings this background and her previous work at Disney / ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, and One Medical to our growing North Bay startup community. She is joining to expedite the momentum of MSIV’s community-building efforts. In her role, Elizabeth will bring together the various stakeholders, partners, and participants in our community to ensure the North Bay has a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem. She will be a professional dot-connector of sorts, leaning in to assist local founders on their entrepreneurial journeys and helping connect them with the resources they need to grow their businesses here in the North Bay.

Best of all, Elizabeth and I share a clever yet fun sense of humor, a straightforward approach to communication, and a passion for our North Bay home. I look forward to her contributions and the immense impact she will have on our MSIV community. 

I sat down with Elizabeth to talk through all that is ahead for her in the new role.

ZK: What is your philosophy around building a robust startup community?

EM: Founders will choose to launch and grow their businesses where they find a hospitable startup community. Convening this community will be at the core of our ultimate success. Introductions, stories, and shared experiences are the bonds that ultimately plant the seeds for camaraderie and collaboration in the future. Covid has made this one tough, but I’m hopeful our in-person interactions will be back at 100% in 2022.

Building this ecosystem of startup hospitality relies heavily on a network of peer and experienced professionals proactively leaning in to improve a founder’s journey. I was attracted to the MSIV vision because we employ a ‘Give First’ philosophy that asks all community members to support others without expecting to get anything in return. The attitude and actions embodied in giving first transform a network of peers and mentors into an engaged and empowered community. 

Lastly, a shared value of inclusivity is critical. In the North Bay, the diversity of industries represented in the MSIV Founder Network is immense, and our startup community is richer for it. The same can be said for any diverse founder. Without diversity amongst our MSIV community, we will never reach our goal of being robust or hospitable for all entrepreneurs who have the potential to build that next great North Bay company. 

ZK: That’s all certainly music to my ears! What do you see as the potential for the North Bay startup ecosystem in the years ahead?

EM: The truth is that there is ‘infinite potential’ for the North Bay startup ecosystem to prosper. But the realist in me recognizes that we will only realize our potential through the long-term persistence and commitment of the entire Marin + Sonoma startup community and its partners. 

All of the elements for a robust startup ecosystem are present (in spades) in the North Bay. Yet, until the MSIV movement was launched, the North Bay’s capital, intellectual capital, and local entrepreneurs were all disparate.

With the establishment of the MSIV Founder Network and Executive Network, I believe that, for the first time, North Bay entrepreneurs have a ready-made community to help support them along their company’s journey. My role at MSIV is to expound on the current momentum of these networks and facilitate an ecosystem that is helpful to local founders.

ZK: What do you like the most about working with startup founders?

EM: I find startup founders’ intelligence, passion, and purpose to be inspiring. They are a unique and rare breed of human that I truly admire. As I begin my fifth week in the VP of Community role, meeting founders highlights my day-to-day work. I am currently drafting the 2022 MSIV calendar of events for our Founder Network. My goal is to bring our members value and enhance their entrepreneurial journey through purposeful working sessions, introductions, and the facilitation of conversations and camaraderie with peers and potential mentors. Startup founders in Marin + Sonoma are crucial to the long-term economic development of the North Bay, and we are overdue at making a right-sized investment in them as a community.

ZK: I couldn’t agree with you more.

You have an MBA from the Presidio Graduate School with a focus on Sustainable Management. Where did your passion for sustainability come from, and what do you see as the North Bay’s opportunity in leading the green economy forward?

EM: For me, that is more like a thesis question than an interview question! I’ll hit the high notes for the sake of time. 

Being active outside is my way of plugging myself in to be re-charged mentally, emotionally, and physically. I regain perspective, visit gratitude, and exercise. I can’t recreate these experiences with a roof over my head. It’s my natural inclination to be drawn to sustainability and the exploration of rethinking our status quo to protect the places I love and the creatures (including ourselves) in my natural ecosystem.  

Climate change and its direct correlation with the intensity of natural disasters create an urgency to support and amplify the work of green entrepreneurs. In Marin + Sonoma, our natural beauty is also our vulnerability. I would love to see the leading North Bay companies and other local stakeholders facilitate an accelerator program for green businesses based across Marin + Sonoma. There have been attempts to do this in the past, and I believe it is time we revisit this as a community to make an even more profound impact on our future.

ZK: Tell everyone about your wonderful family - what is the day-to-day like in the Murphy household in San Rafael?

EM: Chaotic and pretty loud! My daughters, Caroline (5) and Annie (3), are a hefty handful of energy, objections, and love. Our house is full of the sounds from the Frozen soundtrack and at least one parent yelling, “we need to go!” while simultaneously looking for a wayward pink, sparkly shoe. Usually, it's my husband Brian who finds it!

Zachary Kushel is Founder & Managing Partner of Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures.

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